[Anonymous]

I am in the process of hiring an assistant and I have a ton of resumes. I’ve narrowed the search down to a few and I want to know more about them besides what they put on paper before I waste their time with an interview.

So I am posing the question… is it okay to check out their Facebook page? I can search people by their e-mail on their resume. Is this crossing the line? This one potential person had tons of posts about ex-husband drama. I really don’t want someone with personal issues that would affect her work. Is that fair of me to judge? Some kind of form of discrimination?

Have you considered what someone would think of you by what you make public on Facebook? I would hope most people have privacy settings. If you don’t and are looking for a job, watch out!

[jeff]

Baby momma drama isn't a Federally protected status. If you don't think they'd be a good fit or would be too distracted to work – there's nothing wrong with not hiring them because of that.

Dave Ramsey requires meeting your spouse and seeing your household budget before getting hired. He wants to know if your spouse is psycho and if you can actually afford to live on what he can pay you. If you need $60k to live and the position pays $40k…guess what – you're not a fit.

AUD - 79
BEC - 80
FAR - 76
REG - 92

Jeff Elliott, CPA (KS)
NINJA CPA | NINJA CMA | NINJA CPE | Another71

[nolifecpa]

anything on the net is fair game.

is it right? probably not, but then again you don't post things online that you don't want to make public, especially fb…and especially w/out privacy settings

at the end of the day you have to spend at least 8+ hrs with this person day in and day out

REG-65,71,74,73,70,74,79
BEC-60's,60's,69,71,76*,78
FAR-67,66,65,79
AUD-54,60's,65,83*,69,80
*expired

DONE

[Peanut]

If you're an employer, I think FB is absolutely fair game. Trust your gut.

AUD 81 (X4) Previous scores 59, 72, 72
REG 80 (X3) Previous scores 59, 60
FAR 75 (X2) Previous score 67
BEC 79 (X2) Previous score 58

[Herbieherb]

Exactly if u don't want it seen change privacy settings. And if they don't know how, lol don't hire em. That's kinda basic computer skills

NEW YORK- DONE

[rknight21]

lol at that person that left their page public… they deserve to get the job for that alone… they are simple not thorough…

and also who uses the same email address on their resume that is for their facebook…smh… yes it is fair game

[Gina]

I agree with everyone else. It's fair game. In addition to checking your credit history and doing a background check, a lot of recruiters/employers also search your name online to see if anything strange or unusual pops up (I would do same thing). I must be the only person on this planet who still doesn't have a Facebook account. I do however have a LinkedIn account but I'm still extremely cautious. I guess I'm old school (and I'm only 32!). 🙂

REG 68,67,83(7/2010); FAR 43,71,80(8/2010); AUD 85(11/2010); BEC 74,79(2/2011)
NYS CPA 5/2011
EA 2/2011

[WhyEvenTry]

Yes, that is very very fair game. Many firms use Facebook and other social networking sites in the hiring process. Also, in the firing process. You always have to be careful what you put on Facebook, or at least make your privacy settings are realllllly secure. But rememeber, a friend of a friend of a friend might be someone you don't want seeing that kind of stuff.

This is why I don't have a facebook, that and the fact that I hear is causes more relationship problems than anything. I am 26, and work in an IT dept so it's not like I don't get it.

Go on Alysson, that is what I would do.

BEC - 71, 74, 77 (Feb - 2011)
FAR - 73, 78 (Feb - 2011)
REG - 83 (Nov 2010)
AUD - 71, 84 (May 2011) - Done!! CPA licensed in TX (July 2011)

[jelly]

It's fair game, cuz it's public if you let it all hang out that way. If someone can't be classy and discrete about his/her personal affairs, imagine what he/she'd do with company secrets during and after employment.

Couldn't pass again!

[Anonymous]

@jeff, did you really mention Dave Ramsey??? I LOVE Dave Ramsey!!! I no longer have credit card debt or a car payment…and now I'm working on those pesky student loans.

@Allyson, I would cyber stalk the heck out of candidates and feel there's NOTHING wrong with it. A good rule of thumb for FB is to not share anything that you wouldn't want to share with your grandmother…and employer, in my case. I'm FB friends with my grandparents, boss (she's really cool), and my fellow church members, so I would never put anything on there that would cause embarassment to myself or to them. Anyway, if a candidate uses FB as a forum to air their dirty laundry, that's strike one and very unclassy…if they air their dirty laundry and do not set their profile to private, then strike two because then you have to question their intelligence or lack of attention to detail…finally, if they have numerous inappropriate pictures for all to see, then strike 3. That's just my 2 cents.

[jeff]

Bammers – I'm a huge Dave Ramsey disciple…I've led several FPU classes…I spent a week in Nashville getting trained as a financial counselor. Huge huge fan of the guy and his system.

AUD - 79
BEC - 80
FAR - 76
REG - 92

Jeff Elliott, CPA (KS)
NINJA CPA | NINJA CMA | NINJA CPE | Another71

[Anonymous]

@Jeff, that's AWESOME! I have ALL of his books and my mom listens to him on a daily basis and is always reminding me what ‘Dave Ramsey would do'. Maybe in a few years I'll fly east to get trained as a financial counselor and lead FPU classes and help others like he's helped me 🙂

[Author]

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